How to get help paying your heating bill this winter

The main federal program for heating bills is the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP. It can help pay heating bills, prevent shutoffs, get service reconnected, make a home more energy efficient, and repair or replace heating equipment, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

You don't apply to the federal government. "We do not have LIHEAP application forms and we do not accept LIHEAP applications," the agency says. Each state runs its own program, often through local community agencies. To find yours, call the National Energy Assistance Referral hotline at 1-866-674-6327, weekdays from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern, or dial 211.

Federal rules let states cover households earning up to 150% of the federal poverty guidelines or 60% of the state's median income, whichever is higher. States set their own limits within that range. Some automatically qualify households that already get SNAP, TANF, Supplemental Security Income, or certain veterans' benefits. Renters can qualify too.

Set your expectations, though. On average, only about 20% of households that qualify actually get benefits, HHS says, and the aid isn't designed to cover a full year of heating bills. The money can also run out. "When the funding is gone, it's gone, and it won't come back until next year," Patricia King, a community engagement manager at the Philadelphia utility PECO, told WHYY last December.

The program's future funding is shaky. The last 10% of fiscal 2026 federal LIHEAP money, about $421 million, didn't reach states until April 20 after multiple delays, the American Public Power Association reported. The administration has proposed eliminating LIHEAP in its budget for fiscal 2027, which began October 1. It proposed the same thing a year earlier, and Congress increased the program's funding instead. For now, the government is running on a short-term funding bill through December 11.

Application dates vary by state, and several open soon:

• Georgia: Households must earn at or below 60% of the state median income. The heating program typically opens the first workday of December for people 65 and older or medically homebound. Applies in Atlanta and statewide.
• Illinois: Applications opened October 1 for seniors 60 and older, people with disabilities, families with children 5 or younger, and households facing a shutoff or running below 25% propane. Last year the program helped more than 360,000 households with an average of $676 each, WMBD reported. The income cap can't exceed 60% of the state median income. Applies in Chicago and statewide.
• Pennsylvania: The 2026-27 season is scheduled to open November 2. Cash grants range from $200 to $1,000, depending on household size, income, and fuel type. Crisis grants arrive within 10 business days, or faster in a life-threatening emergency. Applies in Philadelphia and statewide.
• New York: Households that qualify and can't pay for heating fuel or delivery can get fuel delivered as quickly as the same day, the state says.

Winter shutoff protections

Many states limit when a utility can cut off heat in winter, though the rules differ a lot. In Georgia, an electric utility can't disconnect a residential customer between November 15 and March 15 if the local forecast calls for temperatures below 32 degrees for the 24 hours starting at 8 a.m. that day. Gas uses a 48-hour window. The catch: the customer has to agree in writing to pay off the past-due balance in equal installments starting after March 15.

In Illinois, gas and electric utilities can't shut off heating service for nonpayment between December 1 and March 31, with exceptions, including days when it's 32 degrees or warmer outside, according to the attorney general's office. New York requires providers, from November 1 to April 15, to make a special effort to find out whether cutting off heat would seriously harm a customer's health or safety. Pennsylvania's winter moratorium protects many lower-income customers from shutoffs from December 1 through March 31.

None of that erases what you owe. "Seasonal moratoriums only delay disconnections and do not eliminate the underlying debt," Mark Wolfe, executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association, told House appropriators in April.

Two other options can soften the bills. Budget billing spreads your yearly cost into equal monthly payments. Pennsylvania requires gas, electric, and steam heating utilities to offer it year-round, averaged over 10, 11, or 12 months, so ask your utility whether it does the same. And the federal Weatherization Assistance Program, open to households at or below 200% of the poverty guidelines or on Supplemental Security Income, makes efficiency upgrades that save an average of $372 or more a year, according to the Department of Energy. There's often a waitlist, so sign up early.

One warning: if someone offers you a LIHEAP grant or asks for a fee, HHS says to call its fraud hotline at 1-800-447-8477.

Sources

• HHS Administration for Children and Families: LIHEAP
• HHS: LIHEAP FAQs for consumers
• HHS: LIHEAP income guidelines memo
• Department of Energy: Weatherization Assistance Program
• Department of Energy: How to apply for weatherization assistance
• Georgia DFCS: LIHEAP
• Georgia Public Service Commission: Electric disconnection
• Illinois DCEO: Utility bill assistance
• Illinois Attorney General: Gas and electric consumer rights
• WMBD: Illinois energy assistance applications open
• Pennsylvania DHS: Apply for LIHEAP
• Pennsylvania PUC: Protections for utility customers
• 52 Pa. Code 56.12: Budget billing
• New York State: Home heating updates
• American Public Power Association: Remaining FY 2026 LIHEAP funds disbursed
• NEADA: Testimony to House appropriators
• WHYY: LIHEAP opens in Pennsylvania